Although Justine Henin has broken down Serena Williams on many occasions, the American is arguably the best in the game. With many devoted fans comes much jealously and ignorance. Problems with injuries have compromised long-term consistency but with her dazzling comebacks, what makes Serena so special?

Let’s take a look at her playing style. She generates power continuously which elevates the speed of the ball. Her movement, which comes from those sturdy legs, sets her up for stunning shots. The backhand is by far the better side - Serena will always keep a sharp eye out for short balls. This enables her to hammer down with immense power.

Serena’s forehand also brushes up well, it’s more than power and she will use it to exploit angles. The serve is one of the biggest in the game, it fizzes off the court. And just like the serve, the return is equally fierce. At times she will edge closer to the service line, and fire. She is also a devoted runner on court, as she will do just about anything to stay in the point.

'Arguably possessing the best psychological mindset on the WTA tour, Serena’s fuel for stunning comebacks as well as strong victories are spurred on through her never-give-up attitude'


A new observation this year is the Serena slice. Mostly favoured on the forehand side, a lot of people were shocked at this new development. Especially after the sluggish slices she put in in her Roland Garros quarter-final. While it may not be the best slice around, it’s capable of doing a bit of damage. Serena is also an impressive net player, her numerous Grand Slam doubles titles are proof of this.

Serena is still a difficult opponent to beat. Take Justine Henin - we can still see tactics that the Belgian uses to hurt her. Justine was extremely aggressive against Serena recently, but she still maintained her stunning variety. Henin would input the odd drop-shot or slice. This was effective because it dramatically changed the pace of the ball, increased the tricky spins, dragged Serena to the net and was at times unpredictable.

Although Serena’s determination did keep her in the points, Henin’s astonishing range of variety gave her the ability to mix up the points consistently, which couldn’t give Serena easy shots and made it extremely difficult. But there are no real solid tactics that will break through Serena’s defence, she is too composed and devoted.

Arguably possessing the best psychological mindset on the WTA tour, Serena’s fuel for stunning comebacks as well as strong victories are spurred on through her never-give-up attitude. She has displayed it many times this year, like in the Australian Open final. Serena was coming off a nasty injury and played great tennis to the final. When she got there, she completely destroyed Maria Sharapova. This flawless Serena popped up out of nowhere.

In her fourth-round Wimbledon match, she screamed for mercy as was reduced to tears when cramping up badly on court. Even with the after-shocks, she won her final set against Daniela Hantuchova. Serena was warned that if she continued (which she did), she could make it worse. Yet she carried on - some say it was a brave move while others say it was a stupid decision.

Serena will most likely be hindered with injuries throughout 2008, but she will always remain a huge threat. We could see yet one or more Grand Slam(s) to her name. She will have a fight on her hands, as sister Venus, Henin, Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport and a few others will pitch strongly against her. But there is still a lot more gold left in Serena’s career.

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